Style points have been removed from Oregon's equation

Nov. 17, 2012
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The Oregon Duck mascot has done plenty of pushups to match the football team's scoring output this season. And those points are the only ones that matter for Oregon from now on. / Kelley L Cox, US Presswire

by George Schroeder, USA TODAY Sports

by George Schroeder, USA TODAY Sports

EUGENE, Ore. â?? All season, Oregon's cachet has been built on style points. An underwhelming early schedule? Sure, but the Ducks overwhelmed the opponents. A couple of expected showdowns became beat-downs.

En route to 10-0 and No. 2 in the Bowl Championship Series standings, Oregon has been routinely impressive. The voters like the Ducks. Each week, they have passed the eye test.

Until last week, that is. Never mind that Oregon ascended to No. 1 in all the polls. Look past the final score (59-17) in the win at California, which reflected, ho-hum, another Oregon rout. It was, but it didn't come easy, and it revealed significant flaws in the Ducks' resume. It was clear that injuries have turned a decent, if overshadowed, defense into something less.

That's why what happened on the other side of the country was so important. Texas A&M's upset of Alabama removed style points from the equation.

Oregon no longer needs any.

Neither does Kansas State. Before, those teams were locked into a battle of who's prettier, and it wasn't certain which team would slip into the No. 2 spot in the final BCS standings. But now, how they win no longer matters, only that they do. (With apologies to unbeaten Notre Dame, if all three keep winning, the Irish won't pass the Ducks or Wildcats in the BCS standings.)

Stanford brings the Pac-12's best defense to Autzen Stadium tonight â?? though it has struggled against spread teams, and especially in recent seasons against the Ducks. But it's Stanford's big, bruising, power offense that could turn today's matchup into a scary proposition for Oregon.

The status of Oregon's battered defensive line is uncertain. The secondary â?? will De'Anthony Thomas play cornerback? â?? is cloaked in secrecy. If new starting quarterback Kevin Hogan is effective, if the Cardinal can put together those long, time-consuming grinding drives that keep the Ducks' offense off the field, who knows?

It probably won't be enough for an upset, especially at the Pac-12's most hostile road venue. And if Oregon escapes, even by a narrow margin, that is enough.

Thanks to Texas A&M, the Ducks don't need style points. They just have to outscore the other guys. They've been pretty good at that.

Coach Chip Kelly's favorite cliche finally applies. It's weird for a program that clearly cares very deeply about image and branding and such -- What uniforms are they wearing? What land speed records are they setting? -- but all the Ducks have to do is win the day.